Sri Lanka: Proparco is supporting SMEs in rural areas with Hatton National Bank

Hatton National Bank Plc (HNB) is one of the leading players in the SME segment in Sri Lanka.

HNB is one of the main private sector banks in the country and has one of the most extensive banking networks, with 250 branches (including about 60% in rural areas). It operates virtually nationwide, including in the North and East, the two poorest regions of the country. The bank is currently supporting some 100,000 SMEs and has developed a range of services to assist these companies by facilitating their access to markets or improving their financial management. The bank is also the leader in the microfinance market and therefore a major player in financial inclusion in Sri Lanka.

Proparco’s credit line should allow the bank to allocate loans to some 1,500 additional SMEs.

This new project follows on from an initial USD 50m credit line allocated to HNB in 2015 to finance agricultural projects and the development of the bank’s SME portfolio. Proparco’s objective with this new credit line is to encourage HNB to develop its portfolio in the country’s rural areas, in order to support SMEs located outside the most economically active regions which find it harder to obtain financing to develop.

The project should support employment for local people, with some 57,000 jobs created and/or maintained at HNB and with HNB’s SME clients over the next 5 years. At HNB, women will account for 41% of jobs over the next 5 years. It should also be noted that as over 50% of our credit line is intended for SMEs in rural areas, the project should contribute to increasing access to banking services in the country.